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The future? Photo: Plant & Food Research.
Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor wants the horticulture sector to look at developing the feijoa into a “fruit of the future”.
He says they are an amazing fruit Kiwis take for granted.
“Once a year, everyone picks them up off the ground, puts them in a plastic bag and shares them with friends and family,” O’Connor told the Horticulture Conference 2019 at Mystery Creek..
“Feijoas have huge potential. People say ‘they don’t last long so we can’t do anything with them’, but if we [started] varietal development and selection as they did with kiwifruit we could have another amazing export fruit.”
He suggests renaming feijoa as was done with Chinese gooseberries which became kiwifruit.
O’Connor says NZ has shown it can produce quality products in which people see health value and good eating.
“Among the many varieties must be some we can develop. I like them but I am not obsessed with them and just see this as a lost opportunity.”
O’Connor met a group of enthusiastic growers trying to form a cooperative but it didn’t go far enough.
Disease challenges exist but science could address those as for other fruits.
“We... need a development programme and hopefully would get a positive outcome,” he said.
Horticulture New Zealand (HortNZ) says a new report projects strong export growth for New Zealand's horticulture sector highlights the industry's increasing contribution to the national economy.
When it comes to international trade, politicians from all sides of the aisle are united, says Labour's trade spokesman Damien O'Connor.
A brilliant result and great news for growers and regional economies. That's how horticulture sector leaders are describing the news that sector exports for the year ended June 30 will reach $8.4 billion - an increase of 19% on last year and is forecast to hit close to $10 billion in 2029.
There is an appeal to New Zealanders to buy local citrus fruit.
Avocado growers are reporting a successful season, but some are struggling to keep their operations afloat following years of bad weather.
The closure of the McCain processing plant and the recent announcement of 300 job losses at Wattie’s underscore the mounting pressure facing New Zealand’s manufacturing sector, Buy NZ Made says.
Specialist agriculture lender Oxbury has entered the New Zealand market, offering livestock finance to farmers.
New research suggests Aotearoa New Zealand farmers are broadly matching phosphorus fertiliser use to the needs of their soils, helping maintain relatively stable nutrient levels across the country’s agricultural land.
Helensville farmers, Donald and Kirsten Watson of Moreland Pastoral, have been named the Auckland Regional Supreme Winners at the Ballance Farm Environment Awards.
Marc and Megan Lalich were named 2026 Share Farmers of the Year at last night's Canterbury/North Otago Dairy Industry Awards.
William John Poole, a third year Agribusiness student at Massey University, has been awarded the Dr Warren Parker and Pāmu Scholarship.
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